SImple Fancy Fold card idea with New at SU bloghop

 

I'm back with the New at Su blog hop and sharing a card using a very simple fancy fold along with an idea for those ever challenging cards for the men and boys in our lives.  Gardening may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think it often happens in most of our lives even if it's just cutting the grass.  

For my card I've use the Help Me Grow bundle of products that gives lots of options for anyone with even the smallest interest in this age old pastime.  The plant pots come in two sizes and the smaller has a die that cuts a slit so they are easily stackable.  However for the larger one here at the bottom of the pile I used the craft knife add on from  my Take Your Pick tool kit, to cut my own slit 'carefully'.

 

For the background I've used up left over pieces from my craft table to create a colour coordinated backdrop.  It's a great way to get full use of all your lovely papers.  

The tool heads have a metallic effect by using Lunar Lustre specialty paper.  I layered three die cuts for each tool to give a little more strength to them.  The only thing missing is the mud I guess, but this gardener is only just about to get going.  

HOW TO CREATE THE FANCY FOLD

So you want to know the fancy fold.  Take your base card  fold it in half to create a book cover type of card base ie opens like a book.  Then all you need to do is fold the front cover back on itself so that the right edge meets the fold on the left.  It's the simplest you could imagine.  Your panel can then be adhered to the folded back layer.  How easy is that?

You can decorate your card to suit your theme and the decorated background stands out as the fold is opened for standing up on a table.  You can also add a bold sentiment, white embossing on black card,  to make the message 'pop' and adding simple trims like a piece of tied linen thread to the handle of the shears make all the difference too without being overpowering.  You can also just see that to calm the bright white layer inside the card I added some splatters using my Golden Glow Shimmer Pen which I tapped on the side of a bone folder.  Important tip though place your card in a box to do this so the splatters cover the card and not you or your work surface.  I make these mistakes so you don't have to......! ha ha.  

Thank you for joining me today and enjoy the hop.  You can find out more about supplies used below or use my contact form to join my mailing list.  

Happy stamping

Zoe x

Supplies Used

Help Me Grow Bundle

Lunar Lustre 12 x 12" specialty paper

In Color 2026 - 2027 12 x 12" papers

Golden Glow ink pad

Cut and Emboss Machine

How to create a watercolour wash for papercraft

 Hello there and welcome to the final Totally Techniques Blog Hop for 2024.  Our blog hop is here for you to visit several blogs sharing a similar technique to give you lots of tips and ideas for your card making.  This technique will also serve you well as a memory keeper journalling events in your life or scrapbooking.  You don't need many supplies for my version just waterbased markers, card, a stamp block and a water spritzer.  You can find the items and colours I used detailed in the video and below on my supply list.  

I love how simply you can start with this technique and how you can adapt it with layers or embellishiments and stamping to suit your personal design.  It's quick to create although sometimes you may want to allow time for your watercolour wash to dry before using it.  You can use a heat tool to speed up this process also if you can't wait.  

If you love the Stampin' Write Markers you might want to look at a speical offer coming on 7 January 2025 where you can take up option one to earn 2 free sets of 10 marker pens.  Please contact me for more details using the subscribe button above for more information. 

Here is a short video tutorial of how to do the simple technique I have used on the background on the circle on this card. 

I hope the festive season if you celebrate has been happy and full of fun and I wish everyone who reads this a happy, healthy and successful 2025.  See you again soon.

Thanks for visiting 

Hugs Zoe x

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Supply List

Kiss of Texture Stamp Set 164759  available from 7 January 2025

Sweetly Scripted 

Stampin' Write Markers

Different colour packs available

ink pads

Stylish Shape Dies

Purple Fine Shimmer Gems

Ink/Water Spritzer bottles

Cardmaking Babywipe tutorial for Totally Techniques Blog Hop

Oh my it's been a long while since I blogged. Sadly we had a very close family member pass away just before Christmas and it has taken time to come to terms with and move forward.  Thanks for your patience. 

However I'm back and now joining the Totally Techniques Global Stampin' Up! demonstrator blog hop. We are sharing tips and ideas for using the baby wipe technique in different ways.  I created the back ground of the card above, the flowers and the leaves by using a baby wipe.  

Once you have created your scrunched baby wipe backgrounds you can die cut the sheets or cut to suit your needs for your card background.  If you make your own ink pad you can then stamp and die cut lots of images and save them for other cards.  The ink pad you create will last for several stamps! Be aware that the ink will continue to bleed across the wipe and will eventually not be a nice colour so you'll need to dispense with it then responsibly.  Wash out your stamp case and keep for another technique or to repeat this one another day.  

This is my second card which as you will see in the video I stamped the background and then added flowers and foliage along with gems and sentiment.  I used the Hooray for Surprises stamps and dies to stamp pretty flowers and then die cut them and also the leaves.  

I hope you have fun having a go at this technique and that you will also continue on the blog hop for more ideas.  

thanks for popping by and come back soon.

Hugs Zoe x

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Supplies used

Click to Shop

Hooray for Surprises stamps and dies

Fluid 100 watercolour paper

INK PADS

in color pearls self adhesive

SHOP ALL PRODUCTS

Fun bubble technique - Craft with your kids

Hi there hope you have had a good week and are ready for the weekend.  I'm sharing my card for the Totally Techniques Stampin' Up! demonstrator blog hop. We are sharing the Bubble Technique with you this month and you are in for some fun and believe it or not, but it isn't too messy either. 

You will need

Washing Up Liquid - Dish soap

Bowl - not your best china!

water

a straw

watercolour paper - fluid 100 

white card

Stampin' Up! ink refills - I used Afternoon Azure, Night of Navy and Real Red. 

You'll create sheets of bubbled card that you can then  use  as backgrounds or for die cutting.

Start by covering your workstation with a sheet of grid paper.  Then continue by putting a couple of centimetres depth of water in the bowl and a small squirt of washing up liquid.  Then add about a dozen drops of ink of your choice.  Take the straw and blow air into the water, washing up liquid and ink mix.  

Bubbles will form as shown in the picture. Take a piece of watercolour paper and lay it onto of the bubbles and hold it gently. As the bubbles pop move it over to another cluster of bubbles.  You'll get different sized  bubble pops depending on the bubble size. Therefore if you like a large open design be sure to keep adding air to make big bubbles.  If you pop any bubbles on the card once you turn it over you'll create a bubble shape too.  You can add more ink if it is too pale.  I started with the Azure Afternoon and then added some Night of Navy after a few sheets were created. I also tried it on Basic White card stock which worked fine, but avoid getting it too close to the smaller bubbles on top of the water edges. 

Allow your sheets to dry before die cutting shapes or using as backgrounds.

For the card above I used the Tailor-made Tags to cut lots of small tags to then create a pattern and stamped a sentiment on one.  I also used the Layering Leaves stamp set to stamp onto the bubble background and punch out one branch to add a focal point.  I added sequins to add some sparkle and silver pearls. The stamping is in Blackberry Bliss. 

After creating several blue sheets I added some Real Red.  This created a mix and eventually purple. 

Using a background to die cut flowers and one to create a background for them I made a second card adding layers of card, vellum and bubbled pieces onto a dry embossed but inked folder layer.  

For the leaves I made a bubble background using some retired pigment powders instead of ink bottles for the same technique.

Do check out everyone on the hop who will have some very different ideas for using the bubble technique.  

Last few days remaining for our Bonus Coupons - you'll get a £4.50 coupon for every £45 spent on product in July.  The coupons are emailed to you once you order and you can spend them in August. 

Thanks for dropping in and have an awesome weekend. 

Happy crafting 

Zoe x

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INK REFILLS 

Water colour fluid 100 paper

Tailor Made Tags Dies

Layering Leaves stamp set

 Paper Florist Dies

Bough Punch

Sweet and Precious Giraffes

 I saw a fun technique a few days ago and had to try it as it looked so much fun.  I wasn't sure if this Gorgeous Garden die would work as the design I saw had a more geometric repetitive pattern, but this I think has turned out well with the leaves looking quite appropriate for the giraffes.  

I've got 4 layers to showcase the image and with such an adorable scene created with this stamp very little else is required so I add a frame,  sentiment and simple embellishments  and let the image and die cuts do the talking.  

The colours used include Vanilla, Copper Clay, Pebbled Path and Early Espresso.  

I used Tombow multipurpose glue to stick the layers but I think double sided adhesive sheets would work although it wouldn't be so easy to move the layers over each other to make sure they are stacked as exactly as possible onto each other.  

I also made a version with black stamping on white card and I'm undecided as to which I prefer, perhaps you can help me decide? 

For this one I kept the die edge in tact and then layered it onto black card and then Lost Lagoon which I stamped tone on tone using the leaf stamp from the Sweet & Precious stamp set.  I used the same stamp to add some detail to the circles for the sentiment. 

Which do you prefer? Vanilla or White?

Happy stamping 

Hugs Zoe x

Supplies used

Sweet and Precious stamp set

Gorgeous Garden Dies

In color cardstock

Simple Shaker card tutorial for Totally Techniques blog hop

Welcome to my make for the May Totally Techniques blog hop.  Lovely Lynsay Mahon in Canada chose our theme of Shaker Cards and I created this card for the 2023 Sales and Promotions Demonstrator Council new product spotlights for our global facebook group for demonstrators and it also happens to be a simple shaker card to make. 

You'll need the following

• A tent fold base card mine is Bubble Bath a new Stampin' Up! colour. 
• A matt layer 0.5cm/0.25" narrower and shorter than the base card. Same or coordinating as base 
• circle die - Stylish Shapes
• Gorgeous Garden dies - yes they are in the annual catalogue page 164
• Wanted to Say dies - page 167 for the flowers
• Sending Smiles stamp set for the sentiment
• Shaker sparkle of your choice
• Irrisdescent Pearls
• window sheet
• foam adhesive strips

Start by cutting an aperture in the matt layer.  To the reverse of this adhere a piece of the leaf dies from the Gorgeous Garden dies that is big enough to more than cover the aperture.  On top of this layer on the reverse add a rectangle of window sheet again large enough to cover beyond the circle aperture.  You can add glue dots to the back of the leaves once the window sheet is in place from the front of the card by lifting them carefully with a pokey tool to save getting wet glue everywhere.

Add some foam adhesive strips in a square bigger than the circle again on the reverse side making sure there are no gaps at the corners or along the side so that your shaker sparkle doesn't leak out.   Also add foam adhesive across the top and bottom of the matt layer reverse so that when you come to stick this onto the card base this whole layer is supported. 

Add your shaker sparkle to the front of the closed card roughly where your circle aperture will be over it and then remove the backing paper from the matt layer and stick onto the front of the card.  

Now to the front of the card you can add the sweet die cut flowers with iridescent pearls and also a flower in the bottom right corner of the card front.  If you use the flower from the Wanted To Say dies I carefully stuck three layers on top of each other and kept the pink centres from the other flowers used to add a coordinating centre to the white flower again sticking them together carefully first. 

Heat emboss a sentiment in white onto black for a finishing touch. 

A simple but wow card to impress your friends.  Have fun making one yourself. 

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of the hop 

Happy stamping

Zoe x

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Supplies

Gorgeous Garden Dies

Wanted to say dies

Bubble Bath card stock

foam adhesive strips